HEADING SOUTH ALONG THE HUDSON
2.2 Mile Walk at the RamsHorn Livingston Preserve
Saturday, March 10, 2012
My last stop before heading to Connecticut was the RamsHorn Livingston Sanctuary, another Scenic Hudson property with an extensive system of trails - and a very cool observation tower. I ended up walking the trail around the perimeter of the sanctuary, and while I didn't see anything spectacular, this was probably one of the most productive stops of the afternoon - many red-winged blackbirds in the wetlands, and I'm pretty sure I heard both a blue heron and a grebe somewhere out of sight down the creek. I also spotted what looked like a very large nest in the woods - probably just a squirrel's nest, but possibly a much more interesting hawk or owl nest. I also got to hear the first stirrings (to me, at least) of spring peepers off in the wetlands. A bit early, calendar-wise, but not that surprising, given the warm weather we've had recently.
Best of all, I had a really nice walk to wrap up the day, before heading to my plush accomodations at the Danbury-Bethel Days Inn...
JMH
Showing posts with label Hudson River. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hudson River. Show all posts
Saturday, March 10, 2012
HEADING SOUTH ALONG THE HUDSON
A Brief Visit to the Athens Riverfront Park
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Stopped briefy at the Athen Riverfront Park. Saw a few gulls out on the water and had a nice view of the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse out on the river. The lighthouse is owned by the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society, which focuses on restoring and maintaining the lighthouse (which dates back to 1874.)
JMH
A Brief Visit to the Athens Riverfront Park
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Stopped briefy at the Athen Riverfront Park. Saw a few gulls out on the water and had a nice view of the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse out on the river. The lighthouse is owned by the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society, which focuses on restoring and maintaining the lighthouse (which dates back to 1874.)
JMH
HEADING SOUTH ALONG THE HUDSON
0.6 Mile Walk at Vosburgh Swamp Natural Area
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Just down the road from Four Mile Point is the Vosburgh Swamp Natural Area, a less developed Scenic Hudson property. I stopped there mostly because of a post from earlier this week on the 10000 Birds site, showing a screech owl peeking out of a nesting box. Found the nesting box, but the owl wasn't nearly as cooperative... all in all, another site where I didn't see much beyond some nice scenery.
But do check out the screech owl photo I linked to - as some of my students would say, "it's sooooooo cute."
JMH
0.6 Mile Walk at Vosburgh Swamp Natural Area
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Just down the road from Four Mile Point is the Vosburgh Swamp Natural Area, a less developed Scenic Hudson property. I stopped there mostly because of a post from earlier this week on the 10000 Birds site, showing a screech owl peeking out of a nesting box. Found the nesting box, but the owl wasn't nearly as cooperative... all in all, another site where I didn't see much beyond some nice scenery.
But do check out the screech owl photo I linked to - as some of my students would say, "it's sooooooo cute."
JMH
HEADING SOUTH ALONG THE HUDSON
0.5 Mile Walk at the Four Mile Point Preserve
Saturday, March 10, 2012
On my way south I had hoped to stop at Sickles Creek, where there's a hemlock grove that sometimes contains owls - but between not being entirely sure where it was and the pull-off next to the creek being a muddy mess, I decided to pass and kept on the Scenic Hudson's Four Mile Point Preserve in Coxsackie. Four Mile Point is a fairly small preserve, with a platform for viewing a small pond/wetlands, a short uphill walk to an overlook, and a downhill path to a picnic area with views up and down the river.
The pond didn't offer much to see, though I did hear birds calling off in the surrounding trees. The uphill hike was a bit more reqarding - a Coopers Hawk was perched on the railing around the overlook, though he didn't stick around long. Down along the river, I had some nice views of the water - but again no wildlife.
JMH
0.5 Mile Walk at the Four Mile Point Preserve
Saturday, March 10, 2012
On my way south I had hoped to stop at Sickles Creek, where there's a hemlock grove that sometimes contains owls - but between not being entirely sure where it was and the pull-off next to the creek being a muddy mess, I decided to pass and kept on the Scenic Hudson's Four Mile Point Preserve in Coxsackie. Four Mile Point is a fairly small preserve, with a platform for viewing a small pond/wetlands, a short uphill walk to an overlook, and a downhill path to a picnic area with views up and down the river.
The pond didn't offer much to see, though I did hear birds calling off in the surrounding trees. The uphill hike was a bit more reqarding - a Coopers Hawk was perched on the railing around the overlook, though he didn't stick around long. Down along the river, I had some nice views of the water - but again no wildlife.
JMH
HEADING SOUTH ALONG THE HUDSON
1 Mile Walk at the Hannacroix Creek Preserve
Saturday, March 10, 2011
Had a tough time summoning motivation to run today, so instead I decided to stop at several sites along the western shore of the Hudson River and see what I could see. It's a bit early for the usual migrating birds - but the unusually warm weather seems to have a few moving through the area early, so it was worth a look. (Special thanks go to the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club and their excellent guide, Birding New York's Hudson-Mohawk Region, for suggesting an absolutely incredible number of places between Albany and Catskill to stop and look for birds.)
My first stop was at the Hannacroix Creek Preserve in Coeymans. Given that Schodack Island is across the river, there's always the possibility of spotting an eagle - in fact, the first time I stopped there, one took off from a tree right over my head. Guess I used up the eagle whammy, because all I saw today were a couple of gulls and the usual woodpeckers and chickadees. There weren't even any ducks in the tidal pool - of course, it was low tide, so there wasn't much water in the tidal pool, either.
I briefly considered hiking out to the waterfall, but I'd gotten a late start today and wanted to have time to walk the trails at the RamsHorn Livingston Sanctuary before dark... so once I got back to the parking lot it was time to keep heading south.
JMH
1 Mile Walk at the Hannacroix Creek Preserve
Saturday, March 10, 2011
Had a tough time summoning motivation to run today, so instead I decided to stop at several sites along the western shore of the Hudson River and see what I could see. It's a bit early for the usual migrating birds - but the unusually warm weather seems to have a few moving through the area early, so it was worth a look. (Special thanks go to the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club and their excellent guide, Birding New York's Hudson-Mohawk Region, for suggesting an absolutely incredible number of places between Albany and Catskill to stop and look for birds.)
My first stop was at the Hannacroix Creek Preserve in Coeymans. Given that Schodack Island is across the river, there's always the possibility of spotting an eagle - in fact, the first time I stopped there, one took off from a tree right over my head. Guess I used up the eagle whammy, because all I saw today were a couple of gulls and the usual woodpeckers and chickadees. There weren't even any ducks in the tidal pool - of course, it was low tide, so there wasn't much water in the tidal pool, either.
I briefly considered hiking out to the waterfall, but I'd gotten a late start today and wanted to have time to walk the trails at the RamsHorn Livingston Sanctuary before dark... so once I got back to the parking lot it was time to keep heading south.
JMH
Sunday, February 21, 2010
6.4 Mile Run at Schodack Island State Park
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Headed to Schodack Island State Park just down the Hudson River before going home, hoping to get in some more snowshoeing... alas, all I found was mud and lots of ice, so I ended up running instead. It was cold and windy in the parking lot and down at the boat launch, but not so bad most of the time on the trails. Passed a decent number of folks walking dogs (a popular activity there, from what I've seen in the past) and one fellow with a birding scope on his shoulder (though how he expected to hear birds is beyond me, given that he had earphones on.)
Along the way I saw an old brick chimney that I missed the last time I was there, right on the banks of the Hudson... I suspect the remnant of one of the many ice houses that used to line the banks of the river. (See the map on page 3 of Daniel Calandro's Hudson River Valley Ice Houses and Ice Industry... there are ice houses marked on what it now the state park, between New Baltimore and Castleton on the map. Calandro notes that there were 13 ice house complexes on the islands that have since been combined to form the park.) Commerical ice cutting, storage, and shipping was a major industry in the upper Hudson Valley in the 1800's, with Hudson River ice shipped all over the world. The industry died out in the early 1900's with the advent of refrigeration/freezer technology and man-made ice. Calandro's paper is well worth a look for anyone interested in local history, as it not only discusses the ice houses and the industry as a whole but also describes in detail the techniques that were used to harvest, store, and transport the ice... the ingenuity of our forefathers was really quite impressive! The paper is part of the Hudson River Valley Institute library, which contains a lot of cool info about the history of the Hudson River Valley. Well worth checking out! The second time I passed the chimney I tried to bushwhack down to it to get better photos, but it was surrounded by brambles and after getting jabbed numerous times I gave up... running gear is not the clothing to brave a thicket of thorn bushes.
I'd been hoping to go onto the southern portion of the island which was restricted when I was there last time (eagles nest there; it may also be where the heron rookery is.) I vaguely remembered something about that part being open in the winter, but unfortunately, access is only allowed from Oct 15-Dec 31, so I turned around. No eagle sightings today, sigh.
I did spot chickadees, titmouses (titmice?), and downy woodpeckers... also heard a nuthatch and I think cardinals, and I may have seen some juncos at the very end (they were zipping from one bush to another.) There were crows and gulls by the river; when I finished up, a group of crows went over heading upriver, followed by a group of gulls. Spotted two pileated woodpeckers very briefly, flying deeper into the woods. But the sight of the day was a large group (several dozen) of robins digging around in the leaves along and off the trail looking for food. The racket they made was incredible, as was their persistance... they would be tearing through a section of leaves, then fly up the trail 100 yds when I came along and start all over again. They repeated this several times until finally they got tired of me interrupting them and headed off further into the woods.
Schodack Island is one of the parks on the chopping block if the current NYS budget proposal goes through; hopefully a way will be found to keep it open and I can get back there this summer to perhaps see the herons on the Schodack Creek mud flats again...
JMH
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Headed to Schodack Island State Park just down the Hudson River before going home, hoping to get in some more snowshoeing... alas, all I found was mud and lots of ice, so I ended up running instead. It was cold and windy in the parking lot and down at the boat launch, but not so bad most of the time on the trails. Passed a decent number of folks walking dogs (a popular activity there, from what I've seen in the past) and one fellow with a birding scope on his shoulder (though how he expected to hear birds is beyond me, given that he had earphones on.)
Along the way I saw an old brick chimney that I missed the last time I was there, right on the banks of the Hudson... I suspect the remnant of one of the many ice houses that used to line the banks of the river. (See the map on page 3 of Daniel Calandro's Hudson River Valley Ice Houses and Ice Industry... there are ice houses marked on what it now the state park, between New Baltimore and Castleton on the map. Calandro notes that there were 13 ice house complexes on the islands that have since been combined to form the park.) Commerical ice cutting, storage, and shipping was a major industry in the upper Hudson Valley in the 1800's, with Hudson River ice shipped all over the world. The industry died out in the early 1900's with the advent of refrigeration/freezer technology and man-made ice. Calandro's paper is well worth a look for anyone interested in local history, as it not only discusses the ice houses and the industry as a whole but also describes in detail the techniques that were used to harvest, store, and transport the ice... the ingenuity of our forefathers was really quite impressive! The paper is part of the Hudson River Valley Institute library, which contains a lot of cool info about the history of the Hudson River Valley. Well worth checking out! The second time I passed the chimney I tried to bushwhack down to it to get better photos, but it was surrounded by brambles and after getting jabbed numerous times I gave up... running gear is not the clothing to brave a thicket of thorn bushes.
I'd been hoping to go onto the southern portion of the island which was restricted when I was there last time (eagles nest there; it may also be where the heron rookery is.) I vaguely remembered something about that part being open in the winter, but unfortunately, access is only allowed from Oct 15-Dec 31, so I turned around. No eagle sightings today, sigh.
I did spot chickadees, titmouses (titmice?), and downy woodpeckers... also heard a nuthatch and I think cardinals, and I may have seen some juncos at the very end (they were zipping from one bush to another.) There were crows and gulls by the river; when I finished up, a group of crows went over heading upriver, followed by a group of gulls. Spotted two pileated woodpeckers very briefly, flying deeper into the woods. But the sight of the day was a large group (several dozen) of robins digging around in the leaves along and off the trail looking for food. The racket they made was incredible, as was their persistance... they would be tearing through a section of leaves, then fly up the trail 100 yds when I came along and start all over again. They repeated this several times until finally they got tired of me interrupting them and headed off further into the woods.
Schodack Island is one of the parks on the chopping block if the current NYS budget proposal goes through; hopefully a way will be found to keep it open and I can get back there this summer to perhaps see the herons on the Schodack Creek mud flats again...
JMH
Sunday, January 31, 2010
TURTLE ON THE ROAD, Part 4 -
Driving Through the Adirondacks
Sunday, January 31, 2010
I love driving through the Adirondacks... lakes and mountains all around, and often long stretches of road with few or no houses... just wonderful nature.
The drive home from Eagle Bay was a blast from the past... it turned out to go past North Creek, where I've twice run Race the Train in early August. The stretch along the Hudson River was particularly nice... it was too bad the pull-offs with informational kiosks were unplowed, so I wasn't able to stop and get any good pictures of the river.
Passed a number of trailheads along the way... reminders of how many cool places there are to explore and how little time there is to do the exploring...
JMH
Driving Through the Adirondacks
Sunday, January 31, 2010
I love driving through the Adirondacks... lakes and mountains all around, and often long stretches of road with few or no houses... just wonderful nature.
The drive home from Eagle Bay was a blast from the past... it turned out to go past North Creek, where I've twice run Race the Train in early August. The stretch along the Hudson River was particularly nice... it was too bad the pull-offs with informational kiosks were unplowed, so I wasn't able to stop and get any good pictures of the river.
Passed a number of trailheads along the way... reminders of how many cool places there are to explore and how little time there is to do the exploring...
JMH
Friday, November 27, 2009
13.7 Mile Ride at the Corning Preserve & Schuyler Flatts
Friday, November 27, 2009
Since I'm not not ready to risk running, I hustled my backside out the door this morning to get in a short ride down at the Corning Preserve and Schuyler Flatts before the predicted rain blew in (as it turned out, the rain never amounted to more than a few spatters.) I seemed to be moving at a better clip than yesterday, though it was also definitely a bit colder - still, I got used to that fairly quickly. Took a few photos along the way, though the grey skies didn't really lend themselves to much in the way of sunning scenery.
Last year the Watervliet section of the bike path was repaved, and it was always a rude jolt to go from the nice smooth new pavement to the crumbling, bumpy old path in the Albany portion of the trail. Apparently this summer Albany finally got with it and repaved their section... and also decided to spend a bunch of money on a huge sign letting everyone know that they're entering the Corning Trail and the Albany section. I like the repaving but the sign seems like a waste of money designed more to trumpet "Albany!" and Mayor Jerry more than anything else.
After riding through the two parks, I headed south along the river to the riverfront park and then down to the dock where the retired destroyer escort the USS Slater is docked. I've driven past it dozens of times and find it even more interesting after reading about it in Jessica DuLong's captivating book My River Chronicles (DuLong is an engineer on the fireboat John J. Harvey out of NYC and describes visiting the Slater which has a similar powerhouse.) One of these days I think I'm going to have to do the tour, maybe sometime when Ann's down here visiting, since she'd probably be interested too.) I rode a bit further hoping to see Island Creek Park, but stopped when the sidewalk ran out and I didn't feel like risking riding in traffic.
JMH
Friday, November 27, 2009
Since I'm not not ready to risk running, I hustled my backside out the door this morning to get in a short ride down at the Corning Preserve and Schuyler Flatts before the predicted rain blew in (as it turned out, the rain never amounted to more than a few spatters.) I seemed to be moving at a better clip than yesterday, though it was also definitely a bit colder - still, I got used to that fairly quickly. Took a few photos along the way, though the grey skies didn't really lend themselves to much in the way of sunning scenery.
Last year the Watervliet section of the bike path was repaved, and it was always a rude jolt to go from the nice smooth new pavement to the crumbling, bumpy old path in the Albany portion of the trail. Apparently this summer Albany finally got with it and repaved their section... and also decided to spend a bunch of money on a huge sign letting everyone know that they're entering the Corning Trail and the Albany section. I like the repaving but the sign seems like a waste of money designed more to trumpet "Albany!" and Mayor Jerry more than anything else.
After riding through the two parks, I headed south along the river to the riverfront park and then down to the dock where the retired destroyer escort the USS Slater is docked. I've driven past it dozens of times and find it even more interesting after reading about it in Jessica DuLong's captivating book My River Chronicles (DuLong is an engineer on the fireboat John J. Harvey out of NYC and describes visiting the Slater which has a similar powerhouse.) One of these days I think I'm going to have to do the tour, maybe sometime when Ann's down here visiting, since she'd probably be interested too.) I rode a bit further hoping to see Island Creek Park, but stopped when the sidewalk ran out and I didn't feel like risking riding in traffic.
JMH
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